Southern California -- this just in

Former deputy's bail increased after 'revenge' Facebook posting

August 3, 2011 | 9:25
am

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

A San Bernardino County judge on Tuesday increased the bail of a former sheriff’s deputy accused of having sex with one of the law enforcement agency’s teenage Explorer volunteers after reports that the deputy wrote about “revenge, payback” on a Facebook page.

Nathan James Gastineau’s bail was increased from $150,000 to $350,000 after Superior Court Judge John Martin saw a printout of the former deputy’s comment, according to Christopher Lee, spokesman for the San Bernardino County district attorney’s Office.

Lee said that the Facebook posting, which appeared on a page called Gastineau Support, was discovered by the alleged victim's father. The girl was 15 at the time of the alleged incidents.

The 31-year-old former deputy faces charges of lewd and lascivious acts with a child and illegal sexual intercourse with a minor. Gastineau pleaded not guilty to the charges.

During the hearing, Gastineau told the judge that his comments were part of a quote from a television show.

[For the Record, 9:30 a.m. Aug. 3: An earlier version of this post quoted Lee as saying that the Facebook posting was discovered by Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing the female volunteer who made the allegations against Gastineau. Lee said later that it was the alleged victim's father who made the discovery.]